Today's readings: Psalms 133, 46; Isaiah 5:18-25; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28; Luke 21:29-38
Yesterday we looked at the relationship between God and humanity as a love story moving from estrangement to reunion. Today's espistle reading from Paul to the Thessalonians also addresses how we express love, but rather than from a romantic perspective, it looks at the practical sort of love we are called to implement in our community. This type of love, also known as agape or charitable love, is not about how we feel toward someone, but about how we act toward them. When Paul advises his audience not to repay evil with evil but to do kindness always (1 Thess 5:15), he does not add "and like each other."One of the hallmarks of Christian love is that we do right by others no matter how we feel in the moment.
Our pop psychology culture puts a lot of emphasis on exploring how we feel. Reality shows and bad therapy model a sort of emotional purging that may be cathartic for us, but which leaves those caught in our emotional wake to flounder. Acting contrary to our emotions may even earn us the title of "hypocrite." We should be careful not to buy into the notion that our emotions define us or should define our actions. Good therapists and wise spiritual leaders teach us there is a deeper self that lies beneath our emotions. When Paul asks us to repay evil with kindness (and he asks us this because Jesus asked first), he is encouraging us to engage that deeper, truer self. The love of God that is the foundation of the deeper self may sometimes be experienced through emotions, but it precedes and follows any emotional expression, and it never promotes the self at the expense of others.
We act in love toward others because they are beloved of God, not because we are fond of them, or because charitable actions "feel" good. Though we can reap a benefit from these actions, especially if our actions are loving when our gut is not. In a culture that encourages us to let feelings guide our actions, we tend to forget that our actions mold our feelings. Acting in love transforms us into loving people who reflect the love of God. What more could we aspire to?
Evening readings: Psalms 85, 94
Showing posts with label Thessalonians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thessalonians. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Hope
Now that it’s almost over, let’s consider the traditional theme
of this first week of Advent: Hope. Does that seem inconsistent with the
earlier posts of the week? We’ve spent a good chunk of time considering how not to be a Christian, and that doesn’t
seem especially hopeful. But what is hope? It is the desire for, and possibly
even the faith in, a better future. By definition, it implies at least some
dissatisfaction with the present. There’s nothing wrong with being dissatisfied
with our faith lives, with feeling that somehow they fall short of what they
could be. Such feelings may even be essential to prodding us into deepening our
relationship with God. It doesn’t mean our faith lives are not good and rich. Such
dissatisfaction today, this week, this season, is an indicator that we hope they will be even better in days to
come.
For hope to be more
than a sentimental notion, we must face the things that we hope will change.
Some of those things will be external, such as injustice, poverty and
discrimination. Others like resentment, fear and hypocrisy will be internal. But
being brutally honest about these things doesn’t mean we hand them power over
our lives. Being able to name them takes that power away. The beauty of hope –
a hope that is backed by the promises of Christ – is that it tells us we and
the world are not defined by how we have failed, but by who God has created us
to be. Many people – far too many, Christian and non-Christian – let mistakes
and failures define how they see themselves and get trapped in those
definitions. Hope is what we have when we can believe if only for an instant that
God sees us as better than we see ourselves.
Isaiah had to show the Israelites their many failings and
the inevitable consequences before he could show them the hope that lay beyond.
Paul admitted the Thessalonians would have to confront danger head-on before
finding the glory of God. Jesus told his listeners: “By your endurance you will
gain your souls” ( Luke 21:19). Hope exists not because we are in denial about how bad things are today, but because God helps us see tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Brick by Peaceful Brick
Today's readings: Ps 33, 146; Isa 5:18-25; 1 Thes 5:12-28; Luke 21:29-38
When we talk about peace, it’s easy to get caught up in large scale visions that seem difficult if not impossible to achieve. Maybe one of the reasons worldwide peace can seem like little more than a dream is because lasting peace even within our own small communities is so rare. Like many things, peace is something we learn over time, and our understanding of how to create it grows slowly.
As he closes his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul offers several exhortations on how to “be at peace among yourselves” (v 13b). We would do well to review his list often, because many of the behaviors he describes are not our natural reactions. What is our natural response to idlers, the weak, and the faint-hearted (v 14)? In a culture that worships self-reliance, do we treat them with love or with disdain? What about people who do evil? Do we seek to do good for them (v 15), or do we want to see them get their just desserts? If God wants us to act this way, no wonder we also need to pray without ceasing (v 17)!
Peace is always a choice, but it is not always the easiest choice. When Paul and Christ speak of peace, they are sometimes talking about an inner calm, but they are also speaking about our actions. Just like agape love, shalom peace is more about what we do than how we feel. If peace has to wait on our feelings, it will be a pitiful sort of peace indeed. On the other hand, creating peace through action and relationship—like creating love through action and relationship—transforms our understanding of the world. Once we allow ourselves to be transformed into a people of peace, we might just find it easier to envision a peaceful world.
At first, our efforts at peace may be sloppy. But as we grow more skilled with them, we will be able to shape them into something useful, like the apprentice bricklayer who will one day piece together soaring castles.
Comfort: Peace in our actions creates peace in our hearts, our communities, and our world.
Challenge: One day a month, reflect on how well you are doing the following: admonishing idlers, encouraging the faint-hearted, helping the weak, seeking to do good to all, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all circumstances.
Prayer: God of Peace, teach me the foundations of peace making.
Evening reading: Ps 85, 94
When we talk about peace, it’s easy to get caught up in large scale visions that seem difficult if not impossible to achieve. Maybe one of the reasons worldwide peace can seem like little more than a dream is because lasting peace even within our own small communities is so rare. Like many things, peace is something we learn over time, and our understanding of how to create it grows slowly.
As he closes his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul offers several exhortations on how to “be at peace among yourselves” (v 13b). We would do well to review his list often, because many of the behaviors he describes are not our natural reactions. What is our natural response to idlers, the weak, and the faint-hearted (v 14)? In a culture that worships self-reliance, do we treat them with love or with disdain? What about people who do evil? Do we seek to do good for them (v 15), or do we want to see them get their just desserts? If God wants us to act this way, no wonder we also need to pray without ceasing (v 17)!
Peace is always a choice, but it is not always the easiest choice. When Paul and Christ speak of peace, they are sometimes talking about an inner calm, but they are also speaking about our actions. Just like agape love, shalom peace is more about what we do than how we feel. If peace has to wait on our feelings, it will be a pitiful sort of peace indeed. On the other hand, creating peace through action and relationship—like creating love through action and relationship—transforms our understanding of the world. Once we allow ourselves to be transformed into a people of peace, we might just find it easier to envision a peaceful world.
At first, our efforts at peace may be sloppy. But as we grow more skilled with them, we will be able to shape them into something useful, like the apprentice bricklayer who will one day piece together soaring castles.
Comfort: Peace in our actions creates peace in our hearts, our communities, and our world.
Challenge: One day a month, reflect on how well you are doing the following: admonishing idlers, encouraging the faint-hearted, helping the weak, seeking to do good to all, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all circumstances.
Prayer: God of Peace, teach me the foundations of peace making.
Evening reading: Ps 85, 94
Friday, December 3, 2010
"You don't need me to tell you this, but..."
Today's readings: Ps 72:1-7, 18-19; Isa 3:1-4:1; 1 Thes 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
It happens to all of us. Someone says, “You don’t need me to tell you this” then proceeds to tell you something you know they know you already know. How does it make you feel? Why do you think they feel the need to say it? This conversational/instructional tactic is called paralipsis, and Paul used it in his first letter to the Thessalonians to reinforce the need for the community to continue loving each other:
As a virtuoso communicator, Paul realized simply repeating an instruction might seem like an insult to the fledgling Christian community. When someone repeats something to us that we already know, it’s common to respond with an annoyed “I know that!” Paul also realized there are different levels of knowing. The most shallow level is simply being able to parrot what we’ve heard. As a habitual soda drinker, I know in my head it’s not good for me, and will tell you that. What I have yet to do is to know it on a deeper level, to internalize the knowledge until I act on it. Paul knew people well enough to know the Thessalonian church would need continued encouragement until its members internalized the knowledge and beliefs he was trying to share with them.
As we prepare this Advent for the coming of the Christ, let’s be open to hearing some of the stories we’ve heard in Advents past. We may be surprised to discover yet deeper meaning than we have found in them before. We may also be surprised to find how much more deeply we know them than we have before. As Christians, we know these stories teach us to be hopeful. Let us move from knowing hope, to being hope.
Comfort: God is patient while we grow into our faith.
Challenge: Pick one thing you know in your head, that you wish to know more deeply in your heart. Since Advent is the liturgical “New Year,” resolve to find ways to internalize it in the coming year.
Prayer: God of Hope, teach me to know your ways in my heart.
Evening readings: Ps 130, 60
It happens to all of us. Someone says, “You don’t need me to tell you this” then proceeds to tell you something you know they know you already know. How does it make you feel? Why do you think they feel the need to say it? This conversational/instructional tactic is called paralipsis, and Paul used it in his first letter to the Thessalonians to reinforce the need for the community to continue loving each other:
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love the borthers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more.
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
As a virtuoso communicator, Paul realized simply repeating an instruction might seem like an insult to the fledgling Christian community. When someone repeats something to us that we already know, it’s common to respond with an annoyed “I know that!” Paul also realized there are different levels of knowing. The most shallow level is simply being able to parrot what we’ve heard. As a habitual soda drinker, I know in my head it’s not good for me, and will tell you that. What I have yet to do is to know it on a deeper level, to internalize the knowledge until I act on it. Paul knew people well enough to know the Thessalonian church would need continued encouragement until its members internalized the knowledge and beliefs he was trying to share with them.
As we prepare this Advent for the coming of the Christ, let’s be open to hearing some of the stories we’ve heard in Advents past. We may be surprised to discover yet deeper meaning than we have found in them before. We may also be surprised to find how much more deeply we know them than we have before. As Christians, we know these stories teach us to be hopeful. Let us move from knowing hope, to being hope.
Comfort: God is patient while we grow into our faith.
Challenge: Pick one thing you know in your head, that you wish to know more deeply in your heart. Since Advent is the liturgical “New Year,” resolve to find ways to internalize it in the coming year.
Prayer: God of Hope, teach me to know your ways in my heart.
Evening readings: Ps 130, 60
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